The Monterey Peninsula Airport District is set to begin a runway safety area improvement project this month with tree and shrub removal on the east end of the Airport. Travelers along Highway 68 coming into and out of Monterey may see changes starting this week to the airport hillside, the district announced in a release.

"This estimated $52 million project is necessary and in two years we expect that the landscaping which was coordinated with the Highway 68 Coalition, will look better than today," said Tom Greer, airport general manager.

The purpose of this project is to bring the airport into compliance with a new Federal Aviation Administration regulation which requires all commercial-use airports in the country to meet new runway safety standards by Dec. 31, 2015. The Monterey improvement project calls for the installation of a material - at both ends of the main runway - that arrests or slows the forward movement of an aircraft unable to stop with normal braking. The specific arresting system is called Engineered Materials Arrestor System, or EMAS. When an aircraft travels into EMAS, its forward progress is slowed as the aircraft's landing gear slides/sinks into the product. In order to utilize the EMAS, a series of retaining walls will be built.

The project requires some reconfiguring of the main runway and the removal of some trees and vegetation. However, all of the affected areas will be replanted and re-vegetated based on landscaping plans designed with input with the Highway 68 Coalition. The project also requires the relocation of two service roads in order to allow for movement by airport police, airport fire and airport maintenance and operations vehicles, the FAA, as well as access for ambulance and automatic aid vehicles in the event of an on-airport emergency.

For further information, visit www.MontereyAirport.com for the link to the RSA project.